Gujarat Titans bowler Kagiso Rabada has consistently clocked 150 kmphs this IPL 2026. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Kagiso Rabada, a champion fast bowler at the peak of his powers, has been left fascinated by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s sensational six-hitting skills in the Indian Premier League even though he was at the receiving end briefly.

Rabada, the leader of Gujarat Titans’ potent pace attack this season with 21 wickets, was hit for successive sixes by Sooryavanshi in the recent fixture against Rajasthan Royals. In the same fixture, Mohammed Siraj was smashed for a first ball six by the 15-year-old wonderkid who has shown no on field respect also for the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Josh Hazlewood.

Speaking to PTI, Rabada spoke about his mindset while bowling to someone like Sooryavanshi, who has taken world cricket by storm with his IPL exploits over the last two seasons.

“He’s a great talent. He’s got really fast hands. He’s fearless at the moment. There’s not an ounce of fear in his body. That’s how it normally is when you’re young, it’s really fascinating. I think it’s great to see in the game of cricket, in the IPL. It’s great to see the game is well and truly alive. Who else is going to come in and make headlines of that nature? Let’s wait and see,” said the 30-year-old South African.

Acknowledging his X-factor, Rabada said he doesn’t think of the batter’s reputation while running in.

“What I’m thinking is just another batter. And try to get the better of him. It’s almost like a little bit of flair. He’s definitely an X-factor player. Someone that is drawing eyes to the game. Fantastic. Really fast hands. No fear. That’s one hell of a combination,” said the express fast bowler, who has been clocking 150 kmph consistently this season.

Rabada and Siraj have been the standout new ball combination this season with the batters struggling to find answers against them in the PowerPlay. While Siraj relies both seam and swing, Rabada has been unplayable at times generating extra bounce and seam movement with Test match lengths.

It is the fourth time in his IPL career that he has surpassed the 20-wicket mark. Rabada is someone who doesn’t pay lot of attention to the statistics and is happy that he is able to do the job for Gujarat Titans who are on course to make the play-offs again.

“I just feel like coming into a season, whatever the team that you are playing for, this time it is Gujarat, I just feel like I am just going to be here to try my best and that is what I am going to leave it at. And whatever the outcome is, it is what the outcome is going to be,” said Rabada.

On his partnership with Siraj, he added: “I guess it is forming a partnership and that is pretty much it. He has got a job to do and I have got a job to do. I guess we have bonded a bit off the field too but it is nothing orchestrated really.

“We found out we are bowling together and we try to fulfil that role to the best of our ability. There is no real magic recipe,” he said in a matter of fact way.

Test match lengths in T20s back in vogue? Rabada says they were always effective

While Rabada has excelled for Titans, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has turned back the clock with high quality fast bowling for RCB without relying too much on variations. He has targeted the off-stump channel as if he is bowling in a Test match and got the desired results.

Rabada too has got success with conventional ways that are more seen in red ball cricket. Is he surprised that bowlers are getting success the old fashioned way.

“Not necessarily. There have always been some pacers at the top of the charts when it comes to IPL over the years. Bhuvneshwar, didn’t he get purple cap twice in a row. He is up for it again this year. You can’t deny equality. Equality will always show up. If you look at Bhuvneshwar, for example, what has he been doing different? Not much,” said Rabada.

He also refused to get into the debate relating to batters’ inability to handle the moving ball.

“I don’t want to get involved in what’s happening in other batting line-ups, whether they can cope or whether they can’t. If you bowl well, you will get wickets. If you are not really where you would like to be, it’s not going to be that way.

“If you can’t handle the good balls as much as you would like to as a batter, things are not really going to go your way. That’s really the balance of cricket..

“I’m not going to comment on and say that the quality of batting has gone down. Because again, was the quality down when guys were taking wickets before? Or was the quality fluctuating? I don’t know,” added Rabada, fresh from a match winning performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday night.

Published on May 13, 2026